Korean Artist Project: Ahn, Chang Hong is one of 21 outstanding artists selected by the Korean Artist Project. The Korean Artist Project is a global online website which aims to promote Korean contemporary artists hosted by the Ministy of Culture, Sports, and Tourism of Korea and organized by the Korean Art Museum Association. KAP has launched with a three-year plan spanning from 2011 to 2013. At the first step in 2011, art professionals and critics selected 21 artists, and curators from 13 private art museums organized their virtual solo exhibitions. KAP would love to introduce a diverse spectrum of Korean contemporary art to the global audience. Through these efforts, KAP will play a significant role in the promotion and development of Korean contemporary art. Also, the KAP will become a useful platform, which will serve as a stepping-stone to create cultural exchange and global networks with diverse art people. Please visit www.koreanartistproject.com

Critic's Note: Gazing into the AbyssChan HongAhn gazes into abyss, draws up whatever it is we may have wished to have remained submerged, and poses a question as to our next move.With the 1980s, popular art touching on social themes and the role of art within society grew ever more prominent. Come the 1990s, the Olympics and political democratization led to dynamic, diverse cultural phenomena. Apace with such social trends, art has also made significant progress. Amidst these developments, Ahn expressed his views by participating in ‘Reality and Utterance,’ a leading group representing the popular art movement. However, soon began to cement a position as an artist tenacious in maintaining his own voice and refusing to conform, something which developed amidst complex and multi-layered circumstances and that has earned him a place in the history of modern art. This also indicated that at a time when forms of public activism centering around terms such as ‘collective uniqueness,’ ‘the group’ and ‘the movement’ were given preeminence, the path he chose was one of difficulty and loneliness. Still, he persists in speaking out against violence committed against the socially disadvantaged; those who vanished under the banner of the modernization and development of Korean society in a forceful drive reminiscent of a bulldozer, as well as the true face of the power behind it all. This is not to say that the images he portrays on the screen represent a dry documentation of facts or an over-emotional exposé; they are in fact a record of the victims of authority and their souls. Hence, both photography and the body, as vessels and representations of the soul, appear on the screen as effective testaments to the extent and significance of this damage. (This is an excerpt from an original text.)